Genre: Action/Horror
Director: Alexandre Aja
Writer: APJ & Chad Taylor
Based on the video game series
Cast: Vanessa Kirby, Nicolas Cage, Michael Pena, Richard Brake, Danny Trejo, M.C. Gainey, Amber Midthunder, Dane Cook, Joe Pantoliano, Iggy Pop, Jim Belushi, Norman Reedus (cameo)
Plot: In the near future, various weaponized cars rev their engines as a countdown begins. In his car, Marcus Kane (Norman Reedus) quietly says a prayer to himself. "Twisted Metal. It's insane as it sounds: a demolition derby to the death." We see Kane navigating the course, being stealthy but also willing attack other vehicles when necessary. "Each round ends after the death of a contestant until the last vehicle is remaining." We see Kane making the final kill and winning the race. A man (Nicolas Cage) looks on with a big smile. "It was the brainchild of this man: Calypso. A secretive billionaire using his fortune to fund this underground race on the dark webs. The winner of the race is granted any wish by Calypso." The race's obnoxious commentator Chet (Dane Cook) announces Marcus the winner and asks Marcus for his wish. Marcus says that he wishes for his brother to be out of prison. Calypso tells him "Wish granted."
We then see Ash (Vanessa Kirby) watching this, as she has been watching along with us and narrating. We see her at her anonymous desk job, looking very distracted and nervous - her eyes peeled to a news page. In a state prison, "Needles" Kane (Richard Brake) sits in an electric chair ready for execution. The executioner lists 4 counts of sexual assault, 1 count of sodomy, 3 counts of indecent liberties with a child, and 17 counts of murder in the first degree. There is no remorse in Kane's eyes as this is read. The executioner pulls the lever, electrocuting Kane and causes his head to be charred. However, this also causes a power outage at the prison. The alarms start to sound as the emergency lights turn on, which makes things difficult to see. Calypso enters the room with his right-hand man Minion (Iggy Pop) by his side. As they unstrap Needles from his chair, he takes a gasp of air despite his charred head. Ash refreshes the news to see that Needles Kane was executed within the last hour. Some of the nerves escape her face as she gets back to work.
FBI Agent Samuel Lopez (Michael Pena) receives an anonymous and encrypted message containing footage from Marcus Kane's violent victory in the most recent Twisted Metal tournament. He raises the information to his superior, Deputy Director Bob McCall (Jim Belushi). Lopez is surprised that McCall expresses no interest in forming a task force to investigate such an event. When Lopez presses McCall to explain his disinterest, McCall explains that the case is simply not a winner and could negatively affect the department's clearance rates. Disgusted by his superior's disinterest, Lopez tells McCall that he would like to take a leave of absence from the agency. Lopez goes back to his desk to start packing his things. He looks at the message on the screen of his computer. Lopez replies to the message, asking when the next tournament is.
Ash sits in a restaurant, listening to her date talk about his boring hobbies. She is zoning out, clearly not as invested as he is. He asks if everything is okay and she is honest in saying that her mind is elsewhere. She excuses herself and puts some money on the table but he says she doesn't have to pay. She insists. Outside, she walks to a nearby alleyway and vents out a scream of anger. In her nearly-empty apartment, she looks distraught as she paces back and forth. Finally, she pulls out her laptop and begins to research how to enter Twisted Metal.
Calypso watches a series of screens in his penthouse as each contestant of the latest Twisted Metal tournament is announced by Chet and enters the first stage of the contest, located at the abandoned Las Vegas Airport. First to enter the scene is Mr. Grimm (Danny Trejo), who rides into his starting position on his armored and customized Harley Davidson Chopper. He then pulls out a chainsaw and waves around for show. Doing his commentary, Chet jokes that driving a motorcycle in a destruction is like bringing a knife to a gunfight, but that you have to admire the audacity of the choice. Next out of the gates is Amanda Watts (Amber Midthunder), professional daredevil and the only one in the entire tournament using their full legal name. She drives a stock car for the contest, leading Chet to comment that she clearly has the need for speed, but questioning whether speed alone will be enough. Third out is a Red supercharged Dodge Challenger driven by someone called just "Smith". Inside the car driving as Smith is Agent Samuel Lopez. Chet announces that he hopes that Smith is the first to go for no other reason than his bland choice of alter ego names. Unlike the first two contestants, Lopez actually looks nervous. Before the next driver can even be announced, a monster truck comes barreling onto the course driven by redneck-extraordinaire Catfish (M.C. Gainey). Chet jokes that big trucks indicate small packages. Ash sits in the cab of a large black semi-truck. She is motioned to drive out onto the course. Ash puts on a doll mask to conceal her identity and drives out onto the tarmac.
Chet then announces that there is one more contestant who should be no stranger to Twisted Metal fans or anyone who follows the news. From a distance, the faint sound of a children's melody can be heard. Direct from the electric chair at Alabama State Prison... "Needles" Kane! Ash's eyes well with anger. Smith is shocked that Kane somehow escaped death and is now driving his "Sweet Tooth" ice-cream truck, the very vehicle he used to kidnap his victims, in a destruction derby. Calypso watches as the view counts for his tournament are going through the roof. He tells Minion to make sure IT has the backup servers up and running in case the ever-climbing audience number continues to grow. Minion nods and leaves the penthouse. The official bookie of the tournament, Bruno (Joe Pantoliano), is ecstatic over the surge in cryptocurrency bets for the opening round. He calls Calypso to notify him that bets are through the roof for Sweet Tooth.
Following the opening introductions of the contestants, Chet announces the start of the first contest and reminds the dark web audience streaming the tournament that each round will continue until a contestant is killed. As Stage 1 begins, Watts and Lopez both use the speed of their vehicles to evade attackers. Ash meanwhile makes a direct beeline toward Needles, seemingly ignoring all of the other combatants. After she rams him, Needles smiles at her, ignoring her attack. He drives toward Grimm. Once Needles gets close, he activates a flamethrower on the front of his truck, setting Mr. Grimm on fire. Grimm jumps off his bike and begins rolling around to put out the flames. Grimm puts out the fire and reaches for his chainsaw, but just then Catfish runs him over with his monster truck, flattening Mr. Grimm into a puddle of blood and guts. The buzzer goes off, indicating the end of the first stage of Twisted Metal. Each of the drivers is instructed to calmly drive back toward their respective starting gates. Lopez nearly vomits in his car as he drives past what little remains of Mr. Grimm.
During this rest period, Ash begins to rethink her strategy. Taking out Needles is her primary goal but he clearly has the edge on her so she needs to find his weak point. Meanwhile, Catfish brings out a megaphone and begins harassing Amanda - asking if she will be free after the tournament. He then lets out a belly laugh - pointing out that she'll be dead so of course she will be. Amanda is in a zone and totally ignores him.
As the second round begins, Chet comments that bringing the knife to a gunfight was indeed a terrible strategy. The street crew are still scraping him off of the pavement as we speak. For the second round of the tournament, the contestants take starting positions around what remains of the former Las Vegas Strip surrounding what used to be the Luxor Hotel and Casino. As the round begins, Catfish immediately starts chasing Amanda's stock car with his monster truck. Determined to avoid conflict, Lopez drives his Charger into the casino itself, navigating through the debris of overturned poker tables and destroyed slot machines. Amanda drives her car up the side of the Luxor's pyramid shaped exterior. Needles' and Ash's vehicles face each other on the strip, each revving their engines. Suddenly, they both start speeding toward each other, but at the last second Ash swerves out of the way as Needles activates his flamethrower. Amanda continues driving up the Luxor's facade with Catfish hot on her tail. Finally, the weight of the monster truck pushes through the glass exterior, ending Catfish's pursuit. Amanda continues gunning it over the building. Once she reaches the tip, her car ramps off the building, sending her flying through the air - and right into the famous Sphinx replica in front of the hotel. Amanda's car crashes into the faux monument in a fiery explosion. The alarm blares, signalling to the surviving contestants that the current round has come to an end. Chet is dumbfounded by the events that led to Amanda's elimination - and death - and is rendered speechless by ridiculousness of the outcome. The four surviving Twisted Metal contestants drive away from the strip. As Catfish passes one of the camera operators, he comments that he told Amanda she'd the next to go. Catfish continues his boasting, taking credit for the deaths of both Grimm and Amanda. He then boldly announces that he's coming for Sweet Tooth next. Calypso keeps on watching his monitors as the view counts continue to reach record numbers for the tournament. Bruno rushes into his office and informs him that bets are through the roof on Catfish - he's never seen anything like it.
At the start of round three, the viewing audience is abuzz at the prospect of Catfish vs. Sweet Tooth. The two of them hunt for each other while Ash has decided that she wants to wear down Kane's vehicle so she can destroy it in the final round. But until that point, it's all about survival. This is challenged when she comes into contact with the fourth contestant - Agent Lopez. They drive towards one another, each one a bit hesitant as they don't want to actually kill the other (for different reasons). However, neither one knows this so they go full steam ahead before Lopez is the one who balks by swerving out of the way. Watching from his penthouse, Calypso sees this encounter in the corner of his eye and grows suspicious. He radios into Ash that the goal of this tournament is to kill and she's dropping in the fan rankings by the moment. Ash does a U-turn and begins to chase down Lopez, eventually driving side by side to the point that their cars are grinding. Lopez rolls down his window and mouths to Ash to "play along" in a way that only she can see what he is saying.
As the two of them begin to put on a charade, Sweet Tooth and Catfish find each other and face off. The monster truck's size advantage works as Catfish is able to tip the ice-cream truck on its side. Calypso perks up upon seeing this. Catfish begins to turn around as he is ready to smash Sweet Tooth. However, after their first encounter, the spiky mascot atop the ice-cream truck punctured Catfish's gas tank. This left a trail that he is now retreading as he heads back to finish off his opponent. Instead of trying to turn over his vehicle, Needles shoots his truck's fire thrower at the oil trail. It ignites and Catfish tries to stop but his emptying tank provides a roadblock. The fire hits his truck as it explodes and the monster truck explodes - flipping forward into the air and over Sweet Tooth's truck. The buzzer sounds and the round ends, giving Needles time to get his vehicle upright but it is clearly damaged.
During the break, Ash and Lopez communicate to one another using hand signals and realize the position they now find themselves. Not only is Sweet Tooth damaged but they now hold a 2-on-1 advantage. If they can somehow correspond their attack, they can take out Needles. She tells him that if they do find themselves in this position...she needs to be the one to finish him off. Lopez asks why she is here but she doesn't answer, choosing to keep her mask on. He mouths to her that he is here to arrest Calypso. There is a glimmer of hope in Ash's eyes upon hearing this. In his penthouse, Calypso notices that two of the remaining three contestants seem to be conspiring. Bruno tells him that they are beginning to receive a bunch of angry messages. Calypso paces the penthouse, thinking things over as he knows his biggest ratings draw is at risk. After some thinking, a sinister smile grows on his face.
Chet announces that there will be a slight delay before the start of the next round and jokingly advises the remaining contestants that they can use this time to eat their final meal. In addition to our three contestants, a loud engine is heard from afar. Ash and Lopez look to each other as a fourth contestant enters the frame. A large six-wheel tank-hybrid vehicle enters the arena. Chet announces that they have a late surprise addition to the race...Minion! This throws a wrench into everyone's plans. The round starts as Minion makes a beeline for Ash. He begins to chase her through the city while Lopez avoids Sweet Tooth. Lopez finds himself in a tough spot as he wants to help Ash but he also knows that killing Sweet Tooth would help out both of them (even if she wanted to be the one to take him out). He realizes that he won't have his chance as Sweet Tooth suddenly changes course and joins Minion in the pursuit of Ash. She is doing her best to avoid them but finds herself at a dead end. Lopez locates them and scouts the terrain.
Minion notices Lopez's car approaching and briefly diverts his attention to him. Realizing that he can make it 2-vs-1 against Ash if he takes out Lopez, Minion reaches for something in the backseat of his vehicle. He drives closer to Lopez and reaches his hand out the window and it is a makeshift bomb in his hand. He tosses the bomb and it sticks onto Lopez's hood. Sweet Tooth and Minion both drive towards Ash's car from opposite directions - ready to take her out at the same time. Lopez, meanwhile, realizes that his car is going to explode no matter what. While he has failed in his goal, he can at least go out in a bang and help Ash’s chances. We get Ash's perspective as we see Lopez drive side-by-side with Minion with the bomb on his hood. Minion, annoyed, drives to drive off the path towards Ash but that doesn't matter to Lopez (who sticks beside him). In his penthouse, Calypso watches on in agony. There is shock in Ash's eyes as the bomb explodes and both vehicles are destroyed.
The alarms blare to signal the end of the round, but Ash and Sweet Tooth ignore it. They ram each other as they drive through a tunnel, creating a trail of sparks. A bump knocks Ash’s mask off, and for the first time, Needles sees who Ash really is. He tells her that he knew it was a mistake leaving her alive, but that is not too late to correct that error in judgement. Ash says that she entered the contest specifically to kill him and calls him “Dad”. As they reach the end of the tunnel, Ash is able to force the Sweet Tooth ice cream truck to crash into a divider in the roadway. Needles goes flying through the windshield of the truck like a rag doll. When he comes to, Needles pulls a straight razor from his pocket and moves toward Ash’s semi-truck, which is parked nearby. He searches her truck, but doesn’t find any trace of Ash. He calls out to her, claiming he wants to talk to her one last time before he slices her face off. The music from his ice cream truck begins playing. Needles sneaks toward his vehicle when he hears Ash call out and ask why exactly he killed their entire family. Needles smiles to himself and says killing is simply what he does. Ash announces that his days of slaughter are over and activates the Sweet Tooth’s flamethrower, engulfing Needles in a ball of fire. Needles screams out in pain as his face practically melts off his skull from the intense heat before he finally collapses on the ground, defeated.
Ash gets back into her truck and drives through the once great city to Calypso’s tower. She is stopped by security at the front entrance, but she fights through them and makes it the elevator. When she reaches the penthouse, she finds Calypso discussing the outcome of the tournament with Bruno. Ash demands Calypso grant her wish. Calypso laughs at her gumption, but informs her that she does not get the award as she has been disqualified for killing a contestant outside of an official round of the tournament. She asks who won then, and Bruno says that Needles Kane has been named the official winner of Twisted Metal. Ash tells him to make sure it’s listed as a posthumous victory in the record books. Calypso smiles and says he can do that and invites her to take part in the next Twisted Metal tournament despite her rule-bending as she proved quite popular with the audience. Ash drops her mask on Calypso’s desk and leaves the penthouse.
Word of Lopez’s death reaches the desk of FBI Deputy Director McCall. As much as it goes against his instincts to give a damn, McCall orders every SWAT unit under his command to siege Calypso’s tower in the ruins of Las Vegas. When the federal agents storm the building, they find the place has already been cleaned out - everything except for Ash’s mask.
Back in the tunnel, Needles’ body is still smoking from the heat of the flamethrower blast. His lips, or at least what is left of them, slowly curl up to reveal his yellow smile. He then opens his eyes and begins laughing maniacally.
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